Summary
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) plays an important role in tissue remodelling
through the activation of plasminogen in the liver, but its mechanisms are less well
known. Here, we investigated the involvement of u-PA in the accumulation and phenotypic
heterogeneity of macrophages at the damaged site during liver repair. After induction
of liver injury by photochemical reaction in mice, the subsequent pathological responses
and expression of phenotypic markers in activated macrophages were analysed histologically.
Fibrinolytic activity at the damaged site was also examined by fibrin zymography.
In wild-type mice, the extent of damage decreased gradually until day 14 and was associated
with an accumulation of macrophages at the border of the damaged site. In addition,
the macrophages that accumulated near the damaged tissue expressed CD206, a marker
of highly phagocytic macrophages, on day 7. Further, macrophages that were adjacent
to CD206-positive cells expressed inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a pro-inflammatory
marker. u-PA activity increased at the damaged site on days 4 and 7, which distributed
primarily at the border region. In contrast, in u-PA-deficient mice, the decrease
in damage size and the accumulation of macrophages were impaired. Further, neither
CD206 nor iNOS was expressed in the macrophages that accumulated at the border region
in u-PA-deficient mice. Mice deficient for the gene encoding either u-PA receptor
(u-PAR) or tissue-type plasminogen activator experienced normal recovery during liver
repair. These data indicate that u-PA mediates the accumulation of macrophages and
their phenotypic heterogeneity at the border of damaged sites through u-PAR-independent
mechanisms.
Keywords
u-PA - macrophage accumulation - macrophage activation - macrophage heterogeneity
- liver repair